This chapter and the one before it were actually one piece, but they ended up being too long, so i broke it up into two separate pieces.

CHAPTER FIVE

Electrifying pain coursed through Edmund's body, causing his body to jerk. His throat was coarse from screaming already. His brain threatened to shut down. Edmund trashed around trying to find a weapon, anything to fight his unseen enemy.

A new wave of pain swept through Edmund. "You cannot hide from me, Edmund. Accept me!"

Edmund shrieked in agony. His eyes were forced shut. This is it then. This is how I die...

In a last desperate effort, Edmund lashed out with clenched fists. Finally, Edmund's fist connected with something solid. He felt something break under his blow, and Edmund's sense of vertigo stopped. His feet landed on solid ground and the fear passed away from him. His eyes snapped open. He was there. He was in Gael.

Smasher stumbled backwards and landed on his back. The assault rifle fell from his hand and landed at Edmund's feet.

Edmund stared dumbly at his bloodied fist. "What the hell?" Then he remembered what he was here to do. Quickly, he reached down and grabbed for the assault rifle. At the same time, Smasher picked himself up and head butted Edmund in the stomach. The attack did nothing more than unbalance Edmund and throw him against the brick wall.

Edmund's breastplate was smeared with Smasher's blood.

Quickly, Edmund raised the rifle and fired a burst straight into Smasher's head. The stream of depleted uranium shells shattered Smasher's skull, and left him headless. The decapitated body slumped unto the deck.

The announcer screamed "FIRST BLOOD!"

A sixth sense told Edmund to duck, which he did. Depleted uranium shells stitched a trail of destruction on the wall. Still ducking low, Edmund half ran, half dove behind a pillar.

What the hell is going on? One moment I'm fighting for my life against...Against that thing. Next I'm here in the arena. What the hell was it? Edmund had never felt so afraid before. His hands shivered involuntarily. Somehow he knew that whatever he had just encountered a moment before, was not human. And the memory of the experience left him trembling with fear.

Edmund would solve that problem later. For now, he had more immediate concerns. A sudden explosion and shock wave sent Edmund sprawling away from his pillar of protection. He landed roughly on his right arm. Edmund swallowed a scream of pain. Scrambling, Edmund threw himself roughly to the side. A rocket exploded where he lay a moment ago. The shockwave from the explosion unexpectedly increased Edmund's momentum, and for the second time in less that a minute, Edmund smashed against the wall with his right arm.

This ends now.

Dropping unto his knees to steady his aim, Edmund shifted the rifle to his left arm and targeted his opponent, who was busy reloading his rocket launcher. Edmund brushed the trigger lightly. The rifle spat a single bullet.

The bullet pierced through his opponent's forehead.

"AND THAT'S EDMUND'S SECOND KILL!"

Edmund struggled upright, and stumbled forward to hide behind another pillar. There he waited and listened.

Aaron, also known as Smasher, respawned behind a pile of wooden crates. Out of sight of his enemy, Aaron quickly crouched down and listened for any noise that would give his opponent's position away. He pressed himself against the crates, and dared not breathe. He waited a minute, then two. Still nothing. Aaron almost laughed aloud. It seemed he was fighting against a younger version of himself. He wanted to fight guerilla style with the master? He was welcome to try. Aaron slowly looked over the crates.

Edmund lightly brushed the trigger again. Only this time, he was not holding an assault rifle. He was holding a rocket launcher. Edmund fought against the recoil as the tri-barrel rocket launcher fired three rockets in a drunken spiral towards the shadow hiding behind the crates.

Aaron turned around just in time to see the three rockets heading towards him. One rocket went off course, missing Aaron by a wide berth. The other two slammed home. The resulting explosion scattered Aaron's body parts across Gael.

Two more to go. Edmund thought to himself. Slowly, he eased himself back into his hiding place. The blow came like a hammer, and smashed Edmund's head around. Edmund felt his neck snap. Then, Edmund Ross, ex- marine died.

Once again, Edmund felt the cold chilly fear. It was there. Edmund could sense its presence. Edmund's mouth moved, but the words were not his. "Who...What are you?"

The being did not answer his question directly. Instead, its voice reverberated inside Edmund's skull. "It is not time yet for you to know, Edmund Ross. It is time for you to fight."

Edmund's lips parted again, and more words came out. "What are you?"

"I am so unreal..."


respawn

Edmund found himself within arms reach of a Lighting Gun. Edmund took it. He had used it before once in the marines, but he preferred the assault rifle. The voice of the creature continued echo inside his head. I am so unreal...

Edmund screamed in sudden rage. Breaking into a full run, Edmund found himself running towards a pile of crates. A head peeked over it, followed by a rocket launcher. The launcher was aimed at Edmund.

Without breaking his stride, Edmund raised the lighting gun and squeezed the trigger hard. The lighting gun bucked slightly as it released a coil of lighting. The bolt struck his opponent in the torso. Smasher screamed once, then died.

Edmund braked to a halt and whirled around, bringing the lighting gun up to his eye. He sighted his enemy respawning at the far end of Gael. Edmund squeezed the trigger again. The coil of lighting smashed into Smasher's head, removing it from the body. The announcer was screaming.

"ITS OVER! ITS OVER FOLKS! WE HAVE A WINNER!"

Edmund's continued mouthing the phrase over and over again, as he broke out in cold sweat. His hands trembled, and the lighting gun fell from his grasp. "I am so unreal...I am so unreal..."